Posts Tagged ‘Alastair Reynolds’

Alastair Reynolds’ Slow Bullets is a novella of epic proportions. Though his earlier books were hard sci-fi in every sense, this work has a fairly simple premise and is written using a straightforward first-person narrative. However, in no way does this stop the novella from being full of intriguing ideas or a setting both sublime and awe inspiring. It’s as though Reynolds’ writing prowess is such that he is able to delineate his work, sketching complex worlds without resorting to complicated machinations.

Because, what begins as a tale of revenge, albeit in a setting discombobulating for our protagonists, evolves into something disconcertingly tangled. After a ceasefire is announced, bringing a halt to a vast and terrible war, Scur (our narrator) is captured and subjected to a terrible torture. Left for dead, she continues to fight for survival. Yet, when she wakes it is on a huge spaceship; she doesn’t know how she got there or why. But, quickly, it becomes apparent that the ship is malfunctioning and its cargo of passengers are still divided by the conflict.

Scur takes control of the situation in the only way she knows the soldiers will understand, bringing about a tense sort of peace. Soon, she and her companion, Prad, a technician on the ship, discover more worrying truths. The ship is slowly degrading, losing its functions and memory yet, more importantly, is the fact that they have been adrift in space for centuries. Everything they knew is gone. Unachored, this transport full of soldiers and civilians, both good and bad, must find a way to survive but also save the history, knowledge and culture of their lost worlds.

Amidst all this, Scur finds her tormentor. And, it is here that the narrative begins to unravel, revealing differing perspectives against the backdrop of a dying spaceship, lost memories and a civilisation destroyed by an unimaginable enemy. Slow Bullets questions that which anchors identity, whether personal or cultural, producing an atmospheric consideration of the human condition. Once again, Alastair Reynolds has produced a fascinating work of fiction that grips the imagination.

Another first for me as I review both the book and the audiobook of Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. Check out the blurb below..

The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them…

Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It’s their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded with layers of protection – and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.

Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore’s crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune…

This has been billed as a Young Adult science fiction novel and, whilst it isn’t the usual hard sci-fi of Alastair Reynolds, that takes nothing away from story. It’s still brilliant, big idea stuff and, as ever with Reynolds, the worldbuilding is wonderful, creating a universe both far futuristic and alien with equal measure. Hints and ideas come together to form a fantastical picture, mixing space ships and pirate lore to produce an engrossing setting.

Written as an account of events by the younger sister Fura Ness this is a tale that will engage readers of all ages. Signing on board the ‘Monetta’s Mourn’ in an attempt to change the fortunes of their family, the siblings are soon caught up in all manner of trouble. Whilst the crew they’ve joined are a hardened bunch, there’s a difference between expeditioners and pirates and Fura gets to see the truth of it first hand.

Her sister taken hostage and herself left on a broken ship with only dead crew mates for company, Fura begins a transformation that will see her put everything aside to seek her vengeance. There’s something that harks back to Treasure Island here but there’s also something darker and edgier at its heart.

The cadence of the story, the slang and colloquial language, the hints of a much greater conspiracy and the immediate threats all combine into a gripping page-turner. Fura is an uncompromising character but it isn’t until the final chapters that things really become clear. Revenger is a tale of retribution and in no short measure; the idea so cleverly woven into Fura’s narrative is how that desire for vengeance warps a person in ways that make them closer to their enemy, closer to the dark, than they ever expected to be.

Alastair Reynolds is a fantastic novelist and his first foray into YA fiction is nothing short of incredible.

Audio book review

This is the first audio book I’ve listened to and it was an interesting exercise. The narrator chosen is clearly skilled at acting as she gives voice to the numerous characters that Fura encounters. Though some sounded different to how I imagined them, I’m positive this is only an issue as I chose to read Revenger first.

Listening to the book offers a different perspective on the story – a slower, more considered one. The ensemble of actors come to the fore slightly more yet the pace of the tale remains, slowly dragging you deeper into Revenger with each chapter.

Personally, I felt that the audio version didn’t do enough justice to the change within Fura that felt so obvious in the book. This is a tale of revenge; of total and absolute vengeance. Fura does everything it takes to find her sister, including some fairly extreme measures. From the teenage girl she was, at the end of the story she has become furious, unhinged to some degree and unwilling to give any quarter, reshaped mentally and physically to the point that her own sister struggled to recognise her. That is what makes Revenger such a fantastic read. In the end, Fura is closer to her enemies than she’d like to admit yet it isn’t something she’d change. Audio version or book, the last chapter of Revenger is a bombshell of a conclusion.